How are 2017 statewide Virginia candidates doing on social media? See below for their followers/likes on Twitter/Facebook, ranked in descending order with Democrats in blue and Republicans in red. Note that in several cases, candidates have more than one Twitter or Facebook account, but I’m going with the candidates’ official campaign accounts for the following numbers. Also check out a few observations by yours truly, below each category in italics.
TWITTER
Governor Candidates
Tom Perriello (https://twitter.com/tomperriello): 25.9k followers
Corey Stewart (https://twitter.com/CoreyStewartVA): 9,757 followers
Ralph Northam (https://twitter.com/RalphNortham): 9,117 followers
Ed Gillespie (https://twitter.com/EdForVirginia): 2,759 followers
Frank Wagner (https://twitter.com/vafrankwagner): 347 followers
Democrat Tom Perriello dominates this category, with nearly three times the Twitter followers as Republican Corey Stewart, who is in second place, and Democrat Ralph Northam in third place. After that, it’s Republican Ed Gillespie wayyyy behind, and Republican Frank Wagner barely even worth mentioning (kinda like his candidacy in general?).
Lt. Governor Candidates
Bryce Reeves (https://twitter.com/ReevesVA): 3,196 followers
Justin Fairfax (https://twitter.com/FairfaxJustin): 2,422 followers
Jill Vogel (https://twitter.com/JillHVogel): 1,645 followers
Glenn Davis (https://twitter.com/delglenndavis): 1,088 followers
Susan Platt (https://twitter.com/SusanPlattVA): 940 followers
Gene Rossi (https://twitter.com/rossi4va): 231 followers
There are not many Twitter followers for any of the LG candidates (clearly, there’s far less interest in the LG race than the Governor’s race, at least on Twitter), with Republican Bryce Reeves and Democrat Justin Fairfax leading their respective party’s fields by significant margins.
Attorney General Candidates
Mark Herring (https://twitter.com/MarkHerringVA): 13.6k followers
Chuck Smith (https://twitter.com/chuck4ag): 1,153 followers
John Adams (https://twitter.com/JohnAdamsforVA): 507 followers
Democrat Mark Herring is more than ten times ahead of his closest Republican rival, Chuck Smith, followed by Republican John Adams, with a measly 507 followers. Go Mark Herring!
FACEBOOK
Governor Candidates
Corey Stewart (https://www.facebook.com/CoreyStewartVA/): 136,181 likes
Ed Gillespie (https://www.facebook.com/EdwardWGillespie): 81,589 likes
Tom Perriello (https://www.facebook.com/TomPerriello/): 17,775 likes
Ralph Northam (https://www.facebook.com/ralph.northam/): 10,424 likes
Frank Wagner (https://www.facebook.com/FrankWagnerforGovernor/): 9,677 likes
For whatever reason(s), Corey Stewart is kicking butt in this category, with his Republican rival Ed Gillespie about 55,000 likes behind him. As for the Democrats, neither is even close to the two Republican frontrunners, with Tom Perriello ahead of Ralph Northam by a nearly 2:1 margin.
Lt. Governor Candidates
Bryce Reeves (https://www.facebook.com/BryceReevesVA/): 28,193 likes
Jill Vogel (https://www.facebook.com/JillVogelVA/): 20,531 likes
Glenn Davis (https://www.facebook.com/delgdavis/): 14,797 likes
Justin Fairfax (https://www.facebook.com/JustinEFairfax/): 4,955 likes
Susan Platt (https://www.facebook.com/SusanPlattforVA17/): 505 likes
Gene Rossi (https://www.facebook.com/rossi4va/): 408 likes
Again, Republicans are dominating Facebook, with Bryce Reeves beating out Jill Vogel and Glenn Davis. Democrats are wayyyy behind the Republicans on Facebook, with Justin Fairfax absolutely dominating within the Democratic field.
Attorney General Candidates
Mark Herring (https://www.facebook.com/markherringva): 40,584 likes
John Adams (https://www.facebook.com/JohnAdamsforVA/): 5,187 likes
Chuck Smith (https://www.facebook.com/MVP4AG/): 1,295 likes
Finally, Democrat Mark Herring dominates Republicans John Adams and Chuck Smith in Facebook likes — and hopefully election results this coming November.
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